The Research Committee 25 on Comparative Health Policy (RC 25) has scheduled a series of regional meetings during 2007-2009 to explore experiences and document lessons about the delivery of services in stratified societies. These regional meetings of RC25 will investigate the effects of reforms on access to and delivery of services in the health sector.

Since 1990 many countries have initiated reforms of service delivery systems but preliminary evidence indicates that health sector reforms have not delivered the expected results. Though there has been some reduction in inequities in both access and resource allocation, inequitiese are often exacerbated when policies for decentralization are implemented simultaneously with reductions in public spending on social services. The neo-liberal introduction of user-fees has negatively affected access to as well as use of services by poorer segments of society while favoring urban areas and the middle class.

Among the reforms that may be examined at these inter-congress regional meetings are the introduction of new forms of financing (targetted at the expansion of health insurance), new forms of delivery (particularly public-private partnerships as well as contracting with private providers), autonomy for agencies formerly in the public sector, regulation, decentralization and devolution. Focus will be on governance of and by the public sector during these reforms and the policy consequences of feedback about lessons learned.

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